


Footsteps in a lonely valley

by ikonnichiwa



Series: junbob aus ♡ [3]
Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Blind Date, Building Relationship, Daddy Kink, Eventual Smut, Fluff, I'm a hard junbob stan don't mind me, I've been wanting to post this fic for ages, M/M, awkward! junbob, bisexual! jiwon, chanwoo is a barista, dancer! junhoe, donghyuk works for jinhwan, gay relationship, hanbin is a music producer, jinhwan owns a coffee shop, lonely and overworked jiwon, lots of ups and downs, past! bobhwan, past! female character, side binhwan, single dad! AU, so here i am, yunhyeong is a lawyer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 01:41:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15675471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikonnichiwa/pseuds/ikonnichiwa
Summary: Jiwon's a lonely, overworked and surely at the verge of dying single dad who's trying hard and doing his best but life's a bitch. Concerned, Jinhwan and Hanbin have the idea of setting the man up on a blind date.





	Footsteps in a lonely valley

**Author's Note:**

> " 空谷の跫音 " (kuukoku no kyouon, "footsteps in a lonely valley") is a Japanese saying which means someone who is leading a lonely life has an unexpected visitor. 
> 
> It is also a very beautiful song by Japanese band DIR EN GREY which you can listen to here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=davLLY1X1ig ; it inspired me this story. I hope you'll like it !

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So a cold bitch for the most awkward guy on Earth ? Great pick Jinanie. You’re going to ruin our bro’s love life”, the dark-haired boy said as he reached for another cookie, “if it ain’t dead already.” And another slap. Apparently, Jinhwan wasn’t buying his humor tonight.

 

It was three in the afternoon when he finally jumped in his car, already out-of-breath after running down nine floors of stairs. Work had been piling up for weeks now and despite him kissing his usual fifteen minutes after-lunch-nap goodbye and several all-nighters spent filling files and preparing market research plans, it had been hard for him to find the time to properly fulfill his duties and his boss had had to raise the tone. The latter was being extra demanding these days since the launch date of their new set of products was approaching and their company also had to be ready for the incoming holiday season, also known as “the perfect time of the year to make as much money as possible off people’s naivety”. In other words, the man was being physically and psychologically abused and was tired as hell, the accumulation of all of this pressure resulting in him being late to get his daughter at school again. He hoped her teacher would not scold him this time though ; he definitely wasn’t in the mood for this. Coping with the idea of being a terrible father was already enough for him not to be reminded of it every single afternoon.

Despite a bit of traffic due to the heavy rain, it had apparently caused a car crash somewhere on the freeway, and him turning right instead of left at the last crossroads, he reached his destination being only ten minutes late : a new record to celebrate, he bitterly thought to himself whilst he clumsily parked his car between a rusty, red truck and a street light before getting out and running towards the front gate where his child and a supervisor were waiting for him. The little girl, as soon as she noticed her father, escaped from the woman’s grip, not caring if her hair might get wet, and asked for a hug the man granted her right away until he heard the light footsteps of a woman in heels. He raised his head, only to notice the supervisor standing in front of him, her umbrella only covering her an the girl (because he had of course forgotten his at his office), and soon enough, a high-pitched and annoyingly nasal voice came to his ears.

 

“You may want to consider signing up for evening childcare, Mr. Kim. I cannot reasonably wait for you to pick up Hyerim every day. You shall understand that we have other children to look after.” The man reluctantly ignored the slight disdain the woman had hidden in her words and barely nodded, taking his daughter’s hand in his.

“We’ve talked about this several times. But thank you for your consideration.”, he politely answered ; there was no particular need to argue here. Besides, Hyerim was starting to get hungry, as showed the cute little gurglings of her stomach, and he wouldn’t dare to say he wouldn’t enjoy a hot coffee himself.

 

By the time father and daughter got back to the car, both were quite soaked ; hopefully, the man always carried some towels for the days he would go to the gym and quickly wrapped one around the girl, making sure to warm her up before starting the engine. It only took a five minutes drive for them to arrive in front of a nicely decorated front window. On the door handle, one had hung a small slate on which one could read “open” in a very delicate cursive writing, and some tiny drawing of cupcakes that emphasized the lovely atmosphere of the place and whilst they passed the door, the crystalline sound of a bell announced them. The shop was pretty much empty, which was not unusual for a tuesday afternoon anyway, and they got to the counter hand in hand, Hyerim already looking at the cute cakes displayed behind the glass window ; a few seconds later had come back from the store’s kitchen a rather short man in an apron, welcoming them with a warm-hearted smile.

 

“I thought you would not come by today !”, he exclaimed, apparently very pleased to see both Hyerim, whom cheek he kissed lightly, and her father, “let me guess : stuck at work ?”

“You guessed right…”, he answered, his husky voice betraying some lack of sleep, as the other man went behind the counter to take their orders. He was about to ask what they would like to eat when Hyerim interrupted both of them, running behind the counter as well to grab the hem of the pâtissier’s trousers.

“Uncle Jinhwan ! Can you make me a strawberry cupcake ?” she asked, all cute smile and sparkly eyes, so beautiful the latter couldn’t do anything but nod, kneeling down to her height and petting her braided hair.

“If you go back to your father and sit down with him, I’ll even add extra frosting. Deal ?” he said, holding his pinkie out to her so she could hook hers around it ; a deal it sure was, the girl hopping enthusiastically as she returned to her father and so did Jinhwan, shifting his attention to him : “Jiwon, what will you get ?”

“Just the regular. And I’ll take a piece of that oreo cheesecake you have here. Looks delicious”, the father answered, refraining a yawn, evidence of him needing at least twenty-seven hours of continuous sleep.

 

Taking Hyerim’s hand, Jiwon headed to their usual spot : a round table at the back of the room, cosily placed in a corner surrounded by warm wooden walls, with hardwood chairs around, whose cuts formed a heart pattern, gingham pillowcases covering the cushions on which they sat. Jinhwan came back a few minutes after, holding a tray on which he had put the girl’s desert, Jiwon’s cheesecake and all of their beverages. Smiling widely to Hyerim, he handed her a big glass of orange juice and to her father, a caffè americano before he sat down with them, taking his own cup of tea and raising it to his lips. The girl literally devoured her cupcake as soon as she got it in her hands despite her father’s attempts to make her behave politely ; but Jinhwan assured it was fine, and that the girl, who had just got out of a busy day of school, deserved to let go a bit, to what Jiwon reluctantly agreed, even letting her get up from the table. Thus, she had soon disappeared at the opposite of the lounge area they were in, and played with a few toys Jinhwan had allegedly put there for his costumers’ children to enjoy, although these were mostly Hyerim’s now since his shop was mostly visited by young adults and couples searching for a nice place for a coffee date.

Now that Jiwon was less focused on his daughter and more on his desert, digging into the cake with his spoon one bite at a time, both adults could talk peacefully. Jinhwan granted his friend a soft smile and reached forward to stroke the back of his hand in a soothing, almost tender way ; he then whispered, calmly :

 

“You seem kind of preoccupied, to say the least”. A fair statement, of course. It was obvious, shades of purple coloring Jiwon’s under-eyes and tears wetting his pupils, giving his gaze a tired shine. “Want me to take care of Hyerim this afternoon ?”

 

Jiwon’s eyes brightened at the proposition. At this point, it was almost a gift from the heavens : that way, he could get back to his office and work on his diagrams instead of watching over his daughter and lose a precious amount of time he couldn’t afford to waste. He had bills to pay, after all. And getting fired would definitely not help. Leaving Hyerim to Jinhwan also promised a full night of sleep ; something he would refuse for nothing. So, it was with a sigh of relief that he accepted, drinking his coffee in one go, and gathered his belongings.

 

“You’re sure you can, though ?”, he asked, half standing ; all of a sudden, Jiwon felt guilty for giving up on his responsibilities as a father and relying on others so much. Not to mention Jinhwan had a coffee shop to run.

“Yeah, sure. Donghyuk will take over the kitchen, don’t worry about it. I’ll take Hyerim to my place.”, Jinhwan assured, and those few words were enough to convince Jiwon it was ok for him to go.

 

Thus, he left, not without kissing his beloved child goodbye and promising her to be back after dinner at the latest. Only half an hour later, he was sitting at his desk, the computer light blinding him as he kept clicking and tapping, the sound of it turning into a weirdly hypnotizing melody which took him away from the real world until he noticed the clock : it was almost nine. Being only five years old and having school on the next day too, Hyerim couldn’t stay up forever, and if Jiwon wanted to make it home on time, he had to leave now, though he only had managed to get a quarter of his work done. At the amount of papers he had yet to go through, he sighed heavily and took a bunch of it with him, carrying his files under his arm, the quiet night he wished he could have spent slowly slipping through his fingers.

 

***

 

In the meantime, Jinhwan had brought Hyerim to his house as soon as his younger employee, Donghyuk, a performing arts major, had arrived to take his turn at the shop. Thus, she had stayed in the pastry chef’s living room since five in the afternoon, playing with her legos (she had been so into construction games lately, Jiwon had to surrender and buy her some) while the man she called uncle was cooking dinner ; he had invited her to help him at some point and the little girl had gladly accepted, apparently really excited at the thought of cracking eggs and mixing flour, cocoa and sugar together to make her and Jinwhan’s special chocolate cake recipe. Around seven o’clock, a rather young man, yet almost as tired looking as Jiwon, entered the sweet atmosphere of Jinhwan’s loving and caring home, the warm smell of chocolate and sugar tickling his nostrils as he stepped into the kitchen to kiss the chef hello. Hyerim immediately went to demand a kiss as well, which the newcomer granted her gladly.

The three of them ended up having dinner and waiting all together watching TV until Jiwon would eventually come back to pick his daughter up and bring her home, which he did, getting to Jinhwan’s apartment around ten o’clock thanks to the neverending traffic on the freeway. It was late for a girl of Hyerim’s age, thus a part of him hoped she was sleeping already, but he also wished to spend a bit of time with his daughter ; anyhow, a warm feeling of love didn’t wait to rush through his veins when he heard the cristaline sound of her voice after he had knocked on the flat’s door.

 

“Daddy !” Hyerim exclaimed as soon as she recognized her father’s silhouette enter the room ; the girl ran towards the man, who picked her up and hugged her close to his chest, kissing her cheek fondly, “I missed you !”, she added, smiling widely, earning a genuinely loving smile from her father as well.

“Daddy had to work late tonight sweetie, I’m very sorry… Did you have fun with Uncle Jinhwan ?”, Jiwon asked as he let her daughter go back to her toys and went to thank his friend for taking care of her for him ; he didn’t know what he would do or where he would even be at if Jinhwan hadn’t always been there for him, offering his help so much it was almost embarrassing to the father, whose pride was known to be quite huge. And though Jiwon was grateful, he also wished he could be able to not rely on others so much.

“Yes ! Uncle Jinhwan and I made a cake !”, said Hyerim joyfully, getting her father back to reality with just a few words. Such a comment made her father smile even more as he gladly took the cup of coffee Jinhwan was handing him.

“Is that so ? I’m sure it was delicious !”, he answered, his eyes sparkling with pride and love while he looked at his daughter, watching her playing with a doll he guessed his friend had bought for her.

“Uncle Hanbin ate almost everything !” at that, Jiwon looked even happier, and he laughed along with Hyerim.

“Hanbin’s there ?” he turned towards Jinhwan who nodded, eyeing towards the bathroom door where his boyfriend taking a shower.

 

Time was running out, and Jiwon started to worry for Hyerim’s sleep whereas Jinhwan, at the way the father stood unsteadily, feared that the latter might faint right away ; hopefully, Hanbin didn’t take long to go out of the bathroom and he was able to greet his best friend hello. At the sight of Jiwon’s tired eyes, the latter winced and glanced at his boyfriend who addressed him a sad smile ; Hanbin didn’t recall his friend to look this exhausted. It had been such a long time, at least it felt like so though it had only been a week, since Hanbin hadn’t seen him, as he didn’t get to stop by the coffee shop so much these past few weeks. The studio kept him busy, just as Jiwon’s office did to him, thus they granted themselves the time taken to drink one last coffee before Jiwon took his daughter in his arms, again thanking his friends for the help, and declared time had come for us to go back home. Hyerim pouted and sulked a bit, not willing to say goodbye yet but a yawn escaped her small lips and betrayed her tiredness, proving her father right.

 

“I put some cake aside for you to take home.”

 

His voice soft as a whisper as if he didn’t want to disturb Hyerim, the girl at the verge of napping on her father’s shoulder, Jinhwan handed him a dish surrounded in plastic wrap. Jiwon nodded, and waved the couple goodbye as he headed towards the door, gathering Hyerim’s belongings on his way.

 

“He needs a break”, Hanbin stated matter of factly, his eyes on Jiwon’s back as the latter passed the door. Jinhwan, who had come to his side, wrapped an arm around his lover’s waist and shifted closer to him, looking for a bit of tenderness ; he nodded, his worried look confirming Hanbin’s words.

“He really does. He told me he hadn’t had a full night of rest for almost a month. I don’t know how he keeps with the schedules”, Jinhwan wondered out loud, wrinkling his nose when he felt Hanbin leaving a kiss on his forehead ; he thus tiptoed to peck his lips softly.

 

Before the couple went to bed, they sat on the couch, sharing a cup of tea whilst watching a boring TV show they didn’t even really pay attention to. Cradled against boyfriend’s chest, Jinhwan looked blankly at the TV screen as he whispered lazily, the soothing caresses Hanbin’s fingers drew on his thigh lulling him into sleep.

 

“Do you think we could help him ?”

“Help who ? Jiwon ? In what way ?” Hanbin asked, his hand reaching for the remote so he could turn down the volume of the TV and focus on his boyfriend only and the latter continued to expose whatever idea he had in mind.

“Well, I’m not offering to pay his bills, he would say no right away, nor am I thinking of babysitting Hyerim more, though…”

“Though you wouldn’t mind at all, let’s say things straight”, Hanbin laughed as his fingers left his lover’s thigh to slither in his honey blond locks.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind and you wouldn’t too. Stop making me sound like a mom-wannabe.” Jinhwan sighed, pinching his lover’s lower arm in retaliation though it didn’t quite work as good as he had wished, Hanbin laughing louder this time. Looking at his boyfriend fondly, he stole a soft kiss from Jinhwan’s lips before adding, so calmly it seemed like a spoken truth.

“But you are.” And it costed him to get his arm slapped, his boyfriend glancing at him in a falsely mad way.

“You’re more whipped for kids than I am, remember that.” he just said, faking to sulk despite Hanbin’s pouty lips and desperate attempts to make him fall for his puppy eyes. However, the younger had to give up, his curiosity way too big for him to ignore it and keep teasing his lover.

“Anyway. It looked like you had an idea.” Hanbin stated, hoping to learn more and smiling in victory when he heard the other speak, apparently not in the mood to play games forever either.

“Yes. Why not…” Jinwhan appeared to be thinking deeply before daring to express his thoughts, which had the result of making Hanbin even more curious and eager, the boy pressing him to answer more quickly until the latter eventually gave up. “Maybe we could, you know... Set him up on a date ?”

“I was thinking about that actually. The man is tense, he needs to get his dick sucked” Another slap, this time on his chest. Jinhwan looked at him with disapproving eyes, “hey, what was that for ?”, Hanbin complained, rubbing where he got hit.

“You’re gross. Jiwon needs someone he can build a life with. A family. A future. There’s no fooling around for him anymore.” Facing Hanbin’s perplexed look, the boy almost got annoyed. “Why do things always have to lead to sex anyway ?”, he thus snapped, crossing his arms on his chest.

“Believe me sweetie. The dude needs to get laid. Everyone needs to. But Jiwon’s case is one of a kind.”

 

Had Hanbin prepared a ted talk on the sexual appetite and needs of the average population that it would not have surprised Jinhwan the slightest. With his specs on and his dark bangs covering his forehead, the man looked extra smart, almost teacher-like ; which he wasn’t, but it made him look cute and Jinhwan might have even considered him as sexy. He filled that thought for later ; he had others priorities to deal with. Sipping the last drops of his darjeeling tea, he waited for his boyfriend to stop developing on their best friend’s lack of “pleasurable release” to finally set out his idea.

 

“I know someone that could actually fit. I mean, I think it could work between them. He’s one of Donghyuk’s friends, he comes at the shop oft-”

“Wait, you mean, a guy ?” Hanbin seemed a bit taken aback ; he hadn’t seen Jiwon with a boy for ages, despite the young man’s spirited past. Moreover, he was quite aware of his friend’s preferences and wasn’t quite sure a man was the greatest fit ever at the time.

“Well. The only women I know are engaged or married, so… And Jiwon’s bisexual, you know.”

Doubtful, Hanbin pouted : “Yes, but he only likes boys for sex. Not for your dating stuff.”, he answered, definitely not convinced with his the chef's idea.

“You tend to forget that he’s my ex.”, said Jinhwan, biting his lower lip as he refrained a laugh, already mocking his boyfriend’s defeated look.

“Yes I do”, the said man eventually spoke, “and I’m very proud of it.” His boyfriend couldn’t believe his ears and retaliated with a simple, but quite efficient :

“You’re dumb.”

“I get that a lot. Anyway. Who’s that boy ?” Hanbin asked, standing up and heading towards the kitchen, where he searched for the cookie jar Jinhwan used to hide in the cupboard ; he found it after hearing a “on your left” coming from the living room, and came back with it, sitting back and crunching his snack as he listened to his lover. “

As I said, he’s Donghyuk friend. A performing arts major as well. Pale skin, plump lips… I’ll be honest, he’s really pretty.” Hanbin turned his way, not really amused anymore. “But less pretty than you ?”, Jinhwan thus added, lips tightened in a warm and loving smile as he started to stain his boyfriend’s face with wet and loud kisses. “He’s a bit… I don’t know, diva-like ? I’ve never really talked to him but he seemed like a nice guy the few times he came to the shop. He looks a bit cold though.”

“So a cold bitch for the most awkward guy on Earth ? Great pick Jinanie. You’re going to ruin our bro’s love life”, the dark-haired boy said as he reached for another cookie, “if it ain’t dead already.” And another slap. Apparently, Jinhwan wasn’t buying his humor tonight.

“Shut up, will you ? I know what I’m doing and I’m sure it will work. Jiwon may be awkward but he’s very cool once he let loose a little. And he’s protective, loving and caring : exactly what it takes to break a diva’s ice walls. In other words : he’s a dad.”

 

The last statement didn’t make his boyfriend really happy, as it showed when Jinwhan heard a low “You know who else is a dad ?” at the crook of his neck, Hanbin’s voice suddenly husky, not that he would complain ; he would rather keep the teasing going, his teeth sinking in his lover’s lower lip, biting and sucking at it before pulling away, all fluttering eyelashes and pink cheeks.

“Hm ? No ? But I might want to know…” Jinhwan teased before sneaking out of Hanbin’s embrace and running to their bedroom, leaving a few hints, such as a shirt, pants and finally boxer shorts behind ; meanwhile, the other had switched the living room’s lights off before joining his boyfriend within seconds, now quite willing to show him who was the dad.

 

***

 

Now that both Hanbin and Jinhwan were on the same page on the all “date plan for Jiwon” thing, and that Jinhwan had talked to the boy he wanted Jiwon to meet (which the guy had agreed to, by the way) they still had to convince the concerned one ; and somehow, the couple had the feeling it wasn’t going to be a very easy task to achieve. Around one week later, as they drove to Jiwon’s place, Jinhwan even seemed to get a little bit nervous, the way he kept touching everything and tapping on the dashboard almost distracting Hanbin as the latter tried his best to stay focused on the road. He eventually shouted loud enough for Jinhwan to startle and look at him with wide, shocked eyes, only to be told to “fucking stop or you’ll have to fucking walk” in a half-laughing, half-serious tone : Hanbin, as the control freak he was, didn’t like to be distracted.

They stopped at a fast food before reaching Jiwon’s building, and bought food for the four of them, ringing at the entry door with arms full of greasy paper bags ; it looked disgusting, yet, they both had to fight their inner demons to not nibble a few fries on the elevator (which they ended up doing anyway). As Jinhwan was about to knock at Jiwon’s door, Hanbin asked, curious but also, genuinely worried ; Jiwon was his best friend, and he only cared about his well-being.

 

“Are you sure the boy is ok with all of that ?”

To this, Jinhwan nodded, assuring him it was all fine and almost set up. “I’ve asked Donghyuk to tell him about it, and he said yes. He’s cool, so don’t worry for Ji’.”

“I always worry for him”, Hanbin reminded his boyfriend, and on those words they passed the door.

 

Jiwon’s apartment was quite small ; smaller than their house, which was kind of obvious, but the narrowness of the place always surprised them both every time they visited him. The man had the chance to live in a two bedrooms flat, but the living areas were so cramped that once it was all furnished, it felt like a mouse hole. Even the bathroom was so confined it had only the space for a shower, a sink and a toilet and as if the place wasn’t exiguous enough, its lack of natural light made living in there almost stifling. Fortunately though, the aura of a cute little girl transformed the entire atmosphere, forcing a smile to whoever would enter the living room and Jinhwan and Hanbin didn’t break with the rule. They were welcomed by the said girl, who politely said hello before asking for a kiss ; Jiwon had raised her well, they both would agree on that, and day by day, Hyerim was growing into a nice, friendly girl, with good manners. The couple went to sit on the couch as they had thought of eating while watching TV, Jiwon following them, looking even more tired than the last time they had seen him, his cheeks sunken and a five o’clock shadow showing ; the sight confirmed Jinhwan in his opinion that what he was planning to do was right. However, the latter brought the subject up only when he assumed Hyerim was done with her food and would go to sleep very soon, the boy not willing to talk adult things in front of a child.

 

“Ok so. Jiwon. Hanbin and I have been thinking.”, he stated once he noticed Jiwon gathering Hyerim’s leftovers and putting them aside. The man didn’t quite seem to listen, and so Jinhwan waited as his friend stood up to make sure his daughter would brush her teeth well. He came back just a few minutes after, trotting around.

“Yeah…? So ?” he asked, half curious, half busy watching over Hyerim who he had asked to go put on her pyjamas and go tell them goodbye. He wasn’t really interested in whatever Jinhwan would tell him anyway, his mind wicked and tourmented by the thought of the incoming bills he hoped he would be able to pay without any embarrassing difficulty.

“We’re worried you might be overworking yourself. And we think you need a break.”, the pastry chef continued, slowly developing his opinion the whole “little intervention thing” wouldn’t be to abrupt.

“Dude, I sure need one”, Jiwon said, letting out a bitter laugh, “but I can’t afford that.”

“We think that meeting new people might help you to feel better. It won’t make your work any easier, of course, but you won’t feel lonely anymore and it’s known that relationships are a need for a healthy mindset.”

“Are you saying my mindset isn’t healthy ?” Perhaps was it the tiredness, or maybe was he just in a bad mood that day, but Jiwon swore he almost took it badly.

“We’re saying that you look like you’re about to die and that it could make you, you know. Feel better.”, explained Hanbin with a hint of humor, because he loved to do so even though no one ever understood when he tried to make a joke.

“I’m sorry guys but I don’t get you”, the father said, his eyes expressing pure confusion, “what’s with meeting new people anyway ? I don’t know any new people.”

“Well. That’s how I came up with the idea of setting you up on a date.”, said Jinhwan.

 

To say Jiwon was shocked at the news would be a one of a kind euphemism ; the man literally choked on his fries and dropped half of it on the carpet. The entire scene appeared quite disgusting but at least it described perfectly Jiwon’s surprise. When he was done recovering the full capacities of his lungs, the boy sat straight on the couch and turned down the volume of the TV, which earned him a puzzled look from his own daughter, who was quietly waiting for everyone to kiss her goodnight. The couple hugged her tight before letting her go to her father who, still a bit taken aback, took her hand awkwardly. It made him gain some time to get himself together as he guided Hyerim to her room before he would talk through Jinhwan’s crazy idea with him, and it was half past eight anyway : the little girl had to sleep. When he came back, he was almost fuming, his usual slight eyes now big as black grapes ; Jiwon didn’t even reached for his food anymore, his features arboring a serious look as he started to talk, the tone low to not disturb Hyerim’s sleep but firm enough to make Hanbin and Jinhwan understand he was not in the mood for a joke :

 

“I don’t even wanna hear about that, it’s… It’s stupid. Yeah, that’s it, stupid. That’s like, the last thing I need these days” he stated, and one could hear Jiwon seemed to be absolutely convinced with what he was saying, though he was the only one in this case ; which explained why Jinhwan added to it.

“See my employee, Donghyuk ? Well, I’ve talk to him and…”

“You’re willing to set me up with Donghyuk ? Dude ? He’s like my younger brother to me !”, Jiwon interrupted, another shock wave hitting him by now. His heart beat fast, his hands had gone sweaty and he struggled to keep a straight face although the truth was that he had already switched in panic mode. To this, both Jinhwan and Hanbin laughed, amused, the couple calmly eating while watching Jiwon’s imagination going wild.

“No, not with Donghyuk, don’t worry… I don’t think he would ever want you anyway”, Hanbin snickered, munching on his fries as if they were popcorn.

“Donghyuk has a friend I’ve seen a few times already. He may be a bit cold but he’s nice and bonus point : he’s freaking hot. I’ve discussed it with Dong and then with him and guess what ? He said yes !”, exclaimed Jinhwan, evidently quite proud with himself on this one. Jiwon, on the other hand, couldn’t believe his ears. His friend had really planned an entire date for him without even telling him about it first. Letting out a tired sigh, he grabbed his soda and drank a bit to loosen his throat before he would crash his friend’s hope mercilessly :

“It’s a definitive, final, unchangeable, irrevocable no. Sorry not sorry”, he said, almost curtly, “I’m into girls anyway”, he then added as if to find a stronger argument to support his refusal.

“Yeah, sure, you’re gonna act like you’re not one hundred percent bisexual now ? Nice try but you’re talking to the wrong ones there”, Hanbin answered before Jinhwan could even say anything.

“I can’t do that anyway ! I’ve a daughter to look after and files to work on, I don’t have time to babysit whatever student Jinhwan has found me.”

 

It was true that now, despite his young age, Jiwon was working with the mindset of a dad and not with the one of a teen anymore ; he thought of his responsibilities before he would even dare to think of what he could do in his free time (which didn’t even really exist). And in his dad-like way of thinking, he had lots of trouble picturing him and a boy he didn’t know, going on a date for an evening. On the scale of probability, the chances for him to even have a date were close to zero, at least he believed so : he had not seen anyone for years. It was indeed a little bit sad now that he came to think of it, but life was how it was, and his was to take care of his daughter. And he would never complain about it. “

 

I think you don’t really realize the full potential that date can have. Like, for real. You haven’t got laid in ages and Jinhwan said the boy’s pretty cute. If it works, it’s all good and if not, well at least you’ve fucked him” blurted Hanbin out of the blue before dipping his fries in his mayo.

“Would you please watch your tongue ?!!”, exclaimed Jiwon in disbelief as he almost choked on his cola ; Jinhwan couldn’t ethically support his boyfriend on this one so he just slapped the back of his head instead. “There’s a child living here !”, the father added, though Hyerim was already sleeping at the time, while Jinhwan arched his brow as he always did when he knew Hanbin should have listened to him. Hanbin sighed and kept going anyway.

“You got the message here. So. Wanna try ?”

“Listen, it’s really nice of you guys but I don’t have the time for this kind of things right now. I can’t even afford four hours of sleep a night, it’s not to fill them with, you know. Even less sleep", Jiwon bitterly laughed.

“I’ve never said you should have sex with him”, Jinhwan reminded him, finger pointing on the table as to put the emphasis on his words, “just having dinner with him is enough and I’m sure it will make you let loose the pressure. Come on Jiwon, you really need a break. You look like you’re about to burst”, the man said, worried, to which Hanbin nodded.

“It’s only one evening. Jinhwan and I can take care of Hyerim. She’ll stay at our house and sleep there, so you won’t need to come back early. If you know what I mean…”

 

And another slap. Hanbin started to wonder if he had turned into a punching ball lately or if he just really needed to bite his tongue. However, despite his clumsy way of introducing things, he noticed that Jiwon didn’t look that thrown off to the thought of going out anymore. He even seemed interested ; or at least, Hanbin hoped so. Indeed, the man was considering it. Jiwon didn’t really know if it was this much of a good idea, and he wasn’t sure wasting a night of work to have dinner with some stranger was even worth it. What if the boy was a total jerk ? What if he ran away the second he saw him ? He had never considered himself as good looking, sometimes even calling himself ugly and hoping that as Hyerim would grow up, their resemblance wouldn’t show too much. These self-esteem issues had been one of the few reasons he had focused so much on working out and building himself a strong and muscular body so he could, in his very own words, “make up for the rest”. And even if the date went well, what would it even lead to ? Jiwon was already overthinking things and Jinhwan could guess that by a simple glance, snapping his fingers at his face so he could wake up a second and listen to him. The elder male looked at him, all joking aside, and took his friend’s large hands in his tiny ones as to reassure him.

 

“One dinner. And if you want more, that’s up to you. No pressure there. And if you really don’t want to meet him for whatever reason, then it is ok, I’ll tell him. But I still think you should trust me and say yes.”

 

Jiwon’s eyes met Jinhwan’s and in a way, it sent a slow wave of relief down the father’s spine as he let out a long sigh ; he reached for his fries and ate some more, grabbing his still wrapped in food paper burger before anyone else could claim it theirs.

 

“I’ll think about it” he said in a surrendering sigh, and bit into his burger. Hanbin and Jinhwan gave each other an enthusiastic high five as they cheered for Jiwon, who just rolled his eyes in response.

 

***

 

Later that night, as his friends had come back to their home to sleep while he was still up working on his files ; the launch was only a few days ahead and his boss had been quite clear on his expectations, Jiwon granted himself a fifteen minutes break. Leaving his stuff on the kitchen table as he searched for a beer, he remembered giving the last one to Hanbin hours ago : he opted for a soda instead, not really tempted to challenge himself with a shot of vodka that night. Scrolling down his phone for a few minutes, he was suddenly hit by the thought of a possibly incoming date, which his friends had harassed him with. Perhaps was Jinhwan right ; maybe he was really stressed out, maybe he needed to take a few hours to focus on meeting others rather than on going to the gym. Maybe he just had to relax at least a little bit.

It was hard to admit though. Jiwon had always done everything on his own and worked his way through the pitfalls of life. Ever since his daughter was born, he had dedicated his entire free time to her and only her ; working out was only possible early in the morning, after dropping Hyerim off at school and before hitting to the office. All his money was earned to buy food, pay the bills and Hyerim’s schooling, toys, and clothes. Despite his very young age, no one expected the father of a 5 year-old to be only 24 anymore, Jiwon was a responsible man who was willing to provide for his family ; he had always born the weight of all these duties on his shoulders alone, only letting Jinhwan and Hanbin to baby-sit Hyerim when he really needed to. He would sometimes even bring her to his office rather than relying on his friends, which he thought he did too often for his liking.

Thus, it explained Jiwon’s lack of enthusiasm at the idea of leaving Hyerim for an entire night to hang out with some random man he had never heard of, had no clue what he looked like and what he expected from such a date. What would happen anyway, he started to wonder ; was it only an alibi for him to have sex, as Hanbin had hinted, or was it a way for Jinhwan to find him a long-term boyfriend ? Jiwon wasn’t quite sure both solutions were worth the try. He thought of Hyerim first ; and he didn’t believe abandoning his daughter to sleep with someone in secret was morally acceptable at all. Jiwon’s heart didn’t flutter much while imagining a future that included someone else as well. To him, to even picture such a thing and bring a stranger into his life, in which it was just him and his daughter, was almost inconceivable. And if nothing happened between him and the guy, then he would have wasted a certain amount of money he could have save for something more important later ; such as a new toaster, since he broke the last one by accidentally spilling water over it. How Jiwon had prevented it from burning down the entire building remained a mystery, but he was glad he managed to take control of the situation.

But deep down in his heart, he couldn’t help but think it could still be nice. To forget about work for an evening, talk about plain things and get to know someone. He hadn’t experienced that in years, his last sexual encounter being an acquaintance of Hanbin’s ; he had seen the girl a few times, even slept with her at some point and promised to call her some time, which he never did, not out of cowardness or disinterest but mostly because he couldn’t bring himself to commit in whatever she hoped for them to become. Now that he came to think of it, it had been way too long for a man of his age since he hadn’t got any form of release that didn’t involve his computer. Jiwon couldn’t even recall the last time he even got the time to lay down and masturbate ; in other words, he was in need. That had just hit him, thanks to Jinhwan’s weird obsession with his love life, and now he couldn’t think of anything else.

He grabbed his files and piled them up neatly, then cleaned a bit where they had eaten dinner. Lights now switched off, he passed by Hyerim’s door ; it wasn’t shut well, so he just opened it a little more and entered the room, careful not to make any noise. The room was quite narrow, as was his entire flat and he wished he could afford a bigger place so Hyerim could have the princess room she had always dreamt of, which he had promised to make her one day, but it seemed so trivial and superficial to him now that he gazed at his daughter’s candide beauty. Very slowly, he knelt down to the edge of the bed and ran a tender hand through the little girl’s long, raven hair, said hand soon caressing her puffy cheek with the delicacy of a cloud floating in the sky. Jiwon couldn’t refrain a proud and oh so fond smile and kissed Hyerim’s forehead softly before standing up, pulling her covers up so she wouldn’t get cold through the night ; the heater had broken, and the middle of fall was known to be very chilly. He checked one last time that everything was alright, picking up the Pooh bear he had given her on the day she was born and putting it back in between her arms before leaving her to her dreams and going back to his own.

Under the relaxing feeling of the warm water running down his body, he thought about the date again ; he really was considering it more than he should, he said to himself. Somehow, being alone in such an intimate place had on him an effect he had never suspected before : of course, he would contemplate things in the shower, just like everyone else, but at that very moment, the sudden stress relief it had brought him had made him feel more confident and less wary. He was in a totally new mindset when he stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his muscular waist, and went to bed thinking he might as well accept Jinhwan’s offer. He had nothing to lose anyway, unless his dignity, but he didn’t even mind going through a public humiliation now : the last monthly assessment he underwent at work left him feeling like an absolute crap-eating loser, and he was only quoting his boss’ words here. So, to be rejected on the first date wouldn’t feel this bad.

Jiwon slept naked ; as far as he could remember, he had always had. He found it comfier and practical : cooler in the summer, and warmer in the winter as he would wrap the blankets around his body tightly. Around 3 am, he was finally ready to let sleep take him away from all his day-time troubles as he set up his alarm for the next day, wincing when the phone light blinded him in the pitch black night. He would only rest for a little bit less than four hours, a sort of very long nap rather than a real night of sleep and when he made the maths in his mind, he couldn’t help but think work was taking him way too much time and that he, perhaps, would enjoy even the shortest moment of social interaction if it meant no files to read and sum up, then re-read and re-sum up. Thus, yawning, he reached for his phone one last time before his eyes shut.

 

“Set me up with that dude”, he texted Jinhwan, half-asleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO GUYS !
> 
> I've been wanting to write this story for ages now. I remember talking about to my friends back in february and they would be like "why don't you write it ?"... So I guess I wrote it. I won't forget about my other works though, trust me !
> 
> Tell me what you guys think, it's always a great feeling to hear from you ♡
> 
> find me on twitter : @ik0nnichiwa  
> find me on asianfanfics : vxrygd 
> 
> love y'all ! ♡


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